fish

Sea snails

Sea snails are animal organisms belonging to the Phylum dei Molluschi and the Class of Gasteropods ; they are distinguished from the Cephalopods and the Bivalves or Lamellibranches by "the possible" presence of a ONLY external shell (large or small), internal MAI (typical of some Cephalopods) or double (external and typical of the Bivalves or Lamellibranchs, such as the clams or mussels).

From the food point of view, the most significant exponents of the Gasteropods are: all sea ​​snails ( snails, muras, rapari etc), limpets and sea ears.

NB . The following article will NOT detail in detail the zoological classification of sea snails and marine gastropods in general, since, being the Animal Class with the largest number of Species in nature, it would require an excessive and irrelevant commitment.

The term Gasteropodi derives from the Greek gaster and podos, or foot under the belly (which identifies the shape of sea snails); these organisms feed on a rasping tongue (similar to edible land snails) with which they eat algae and / or other animals (some species also have a marked tendency to necrophagy and saprophagy). Sea snails possess visual organs placed above pseudo-antennas (better identifiable as tentacles) and protect themselves from natural predators by retreating into the limestone shell (which, if present, contains internal organs) glued to the foot. The latter is the organ responsible for movement, necessary for crawling or swimming. Obviously, sea snails are Branchiati and non-lung gasteropods.

The sea snails that we will discuss below are the edible ones of the Mediterranean Sea and they are ALL equipped with an external shell.

WARNING! Sea snails are NOT all edible! Some of them, well present also in the Mediterranean sea, are particularly toxic and capable of seriously damaging the health of human beings. It is advisable to always purchase from authorized merchants and to limit the autonomous withdrawal to only well-known species.

Sea snails

The snails are sea snails of different family, genus and species; the most common are:

  • Nassarius mutabilis : also called Lumachino Tombolino, Nassa; is the sea slug par excellence. It is 2-3, 5cm long with a smooth, yellow-brown shell
  • Littorina neritoides : also called Maruzziella; it is long from 1 to 1, 2cm (not more than 3cm), with a dark color sometimes tending to green

Sea snails

Sea snails are the largest species of snails, therefore mainly:

  • Haustellum brandaris : called Murice; it is 6-8cm long, has thorn-like extensions, the shape is stubby but at the end of the siphon it extends. The surface is rough and yellow or brown
  • Hexaplex trunculus : called truncated Murice; it is bigger than the previous one (up to 8cm), it does not have the thorns and the rear extension of the siphon. The color is light and brown or green-violet stripes
  • Galeodea plauta, rugosa etc .: it is 5-14cm long, with a light yellowish striped surface.

Ears of the sea and limpets

They are slightly different from the classic snails and snails, but still used for food purposes; the main ones are:

  • Haliotis : called Sea Ear or Abalone; has a single Species. It is 2.5-3cm long, with an external ear-shaped shell, wrinkled, provided with a row of holes dedicated to breathing
  • Patella caerulea : also called Patella; it has a conical, striated shell with a color ranging from brown to beige-yellowish.

Hygienic, culinary aspects and nutritional properties

Sea snails are foods potentially at risk of viral contamination; it is strictly necessary for the purchase to be alive and consumed by the TOTAL cooking of the food (absolutely NOT raw).

The cases of viral hepatitis transmitted due to the intake of limpets and raw sea ears are very high, which is why it is not considered a microbiologically safe method of consumption.

The cooking of sea snails must be proportionate to the size of the specific animal and comply with preparation procedures suitable for the species in question. Excessive heat treatment significantly hardens the meat making it difficult to chew.

NB . Sea snails are NOT easily digestible foods and their consumption should be limited to maximum portions of 250g INCLUDING SHELL (about 60-80g clean, depending on the Species).

Sea snails, like sea ears and limpets, are niche foods, scarcely consumed by the population of the hinterland; for this reason, the relative information is scarce and sometimes insufficient.

Broadly, sea snails possess the same characteristics as Bivalve molluscs and Cephalopods. The energetic intake is rather limited and the energy macronutrients that are quantitatively more present are proteins (with a high biological value). Fats are few, limited as well as carbohydrates; you do not have detailed information regarding cholesterol intake. In the meat of sea snails, some research sources have shown an excellent content of iron, potassium and sodium.